Nottingham Forest manager Steve Cooper has confirmed that Brennan Johnson is ‘unlikely’ to face Newcastle United on Friday due to injury.
The Forest boss has spoke to the media ahead of the game against Newcastle at the City Ground, and stated that Johnson only has an outside chance of being available.
The 21-year-old was forced off with a hamstring injury in their previous game against Spurs, where they were beaten 3-1.
It didn’t look like Johnson would be ready in time to take on Eddie Howe’s Magpies, and now Cooper has all but ruled him out.
What Steve Cooper has said about Brennan Johnson’s injury
Ahead of Friday night’s game, Cooper has provided an update on Johnson’s fitness.
“He [Johnson] had his scan,” he said.
“It’s unlikely that he will be involved at the weekend but he has a small chance. We’re not completely ruling him out, but when you walk off with a muscle injury it can take a bit longer than a week to recover.”
The Forest boss also stated that Chris Wood is out with injury, although he would have been ineligible to play anyway. He is still only on loan from Newcastle, with the move set to become permanent in the summer.
Newcastle won’t get to see transfer target up close
Forest are going to be without their top scorer on Friday night, which is a big blow to their hopes of getting a result. Johnson has scored seven Premier League goals so far, two of which came against Everton recently, where he was described as ‘magnificent‘ by former player Matt Holland.
He could have caused the Newcastle backline plenty of problems with his speed, but he is now out injured, meaning Forest will have to turn to someone else. As for Newcastle, it means they will not have the chance to have a closer look at a player they could make a move for this summer.
Eddie Howe’s side were linked with the Wales international last season, but promotion to the Premier League ensured that Johnson remained at the City Ground. However, it looks like he is still on the Magpies’ radar.
The Athletic have provided an update on Newcastle’s plans for the summer, and have stated that Johnson is still a player they admire.
He would be an exciting addition at St James’ Park, but will likely cost a huge amount of money. The potential is clear to see, which is why it is a good thing for Toon fans that he probably can’t play on Friday night.